


The Darkness Has Arms

by TheHirsch



Series: Reaper & Tiger [2]
Category: Doom (2005), Star Trek, Xinia, star trek expanded universe
Genre: Action, Albians, Angst, Asexual Lesbian Reationship, Bromance, C0mb0, F/F, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Reaper & Tiger, Science Fiction, Starfleet Marine Corps, Survival, Terrorism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21987307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHirsch/pseuds/TheHirsch
Summary: Reaper and Tiger are on leave. Tiger decided to visit her wife and go home for that time and Reaper came with her. One morning there is no light, darkness has swallowed Inov's Capital Nubakon completely, Lu has not returned from nightshift and the two decided to barricade themselves in the flat. But after two days of darkness supplies run short and they have to leave the flat to get food, water and candles. The monsters they encounter make the enterprise harder than expected.
Relationships: Jurfield, Natalia Jurova / Lúthien Jurova (Lúthien Springfield)
Series: Reaper & Tiger [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572484
Kudos: 3





	1. The Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based off an RP idea a friend of mine and I had. He ended up deleting everything we wrote but now after nearly a year I still want to see the idea of "The Darkness" see executed. So I changed the setting, timeframe and the characters involved. I even changed the cause and the resolvent to not use any of the ideas he contributed to the past project.  
> Have fun reading it! (I'll post periodically in chapters around 1000 words but I also have other stories to get done and posted so please be patient :) )

When Tiger woke up that morning it was dark. Absolutely dark. She reached for the light on the nightstand and tried to turn it on, nothing happened. Was there a blackout? She reached to her left, then remembering that her wife had left to have night- shift yesterday. 

Tiger slowly sat up and dug for her torch in the nightstand drawer to check see what time it was. It was ten-thirty, late enough for the sun to be up. She slowly got up and stepped over to the window. Outside it was pitch black, the cities lights were gone and so were the stars and the two moons of Inov. Her torch was not able to light the pavement a few meters below, only the outer windowsill, the rest was swallowed. 

This was highly unusual, Inov was very earthlike. Something was seriously wrong but it was not clear what. Tiger knew that opening the window was a horrible idea, so she turned around and headed towards the living room, her way lit by her torch. The beam of light danced over the carpet floor to the sofa, where Reaper was sleeping, curled up in a marine-green blanket. The two were on leave and Reaper had come to visit Lu.

“Reaper?” Tiger asked with a normal voice.

Reaper sat up at the sudden sound of her voice, instantly awake. He relaxed slightly when he realised that he was safe and only Tiger was with him. “What’s going on?” he asked and looked around and noticed right away that something was off.

He had been to Inov many times before, he knew it well. 

“We got a problem…” Tiger started. 

Reaper sat up and reached for his trousers to put them on. 

“... it’s past ten, but it’s still dark outside, we have no electricity and Lu didn’t come back. By dark I mean the darkest dark I’ve ever seen.”

Her words darkened Reaper’s expression and Tiger saw him glare at the spot where he kept his sidearm. “What do we do?” he asked as if asking for orders.

“I’ll try to reach out to Lu, meanwhile we’ll light candles. If you have a minute you can have a look outside but please leave the windows closed.”

Reaper nodded and got up, he watched how Tiger got her phone and tried to call Lu but the call was not going through. The phone network was dead. Tiger left her wife a text before helping Reaper to light up a few tea lights in jars around the living room and kitchen. 

Both of them knew that something must have happened. It was too early to evaluate how bad it actually was. Tiger was clearly in crisis mode and she had every right to be. She checked how much food and bottled water they had and what kind of gear they had in the house. Lu had weapons in her locker downstairs and she hid a go-bag somewhere, but Tiger didn’t know where. Tiger always kept a go-bag with survival gear handy and there was more than just one phaser gun in the house.

Tiger and Reaper sat down on the living-room floor trying to think of explanations for this, the most reasonable was that the Albians had offended another space travelling species and the planet was at war. Though neither of the two had ever seen anything like it. One thing they agreed upon; the world they had woken up in felt vastly different, even their voices sounded different. Every sound seemed to be swallowed by the darkness surrounding them. 

Tiger was worried about Lu. She knew Lu could take care of herself but still, the situation worried her.

“We got this,” Reaper said softly. “We have been through so much shit and survived it and we got abilities.”

“If this is war we are still fucked. We don’t have our armour, no backup and I only have my tiny first aid kit. We’re basically civilians equipment-wise,” Tiger said clearly worried. “Gonna get at least into my fatigues,” she mumbled before getting up. “Do you need a torch?”

“That would be great, maybe a headlamp if you have one.”

Tiger nodded and went to get him one. 

A few minutes later Tiger was left alone in the candlelit living room, while Reaper got ready. After getting dressed she was constantly checking her phone to see if Lu had answered her text message. 

What sounded like a crying wind gust blew through the tiny crevices around the windows, at the same time the five tealights in jars on the coffee table and bookshelves flickered and went out. Tiger felt a shiver ran down her spine. She quickly turned on her phone’s torch and went over with big steps to grab Reaper’s gun and light the candles again before doing a sweep in the flat. Suddenly she heard steps, hopefully, just Reaper returning from the bathroom.

“Tiger, is that you?” she heard Reaper call out. 

“Yeah, it’s me and I’ve armed myself.”

“Same,” Reaper answered bluntly. “My headlamp just died.”

“Probably just the batteries….” Tiger quickly went around the corner, both her torch and gun directed down the hall until the slim beam of light stopped on Reaper. She was careful not to blind him. He was holding his knife in his right hand.

He was in his uniform now, like her he wore the Type B uniform with their iconic moss-green tops and black pants. 

Once she was sure it was him she moved the light to his feet and went back into the living room. 

Tiger was now seemingly nervous. 

“You okay?” Reaper asked her while watching how she looked for a new pair of batteries for his headlamp.

“All the candles blew out shortly after you left, I just had to check we are truly alone in here.”

“I think the situation justifies to be paranoid. I wish I had a scanner on me… or my armour.”

Tiger nodded in agreement.

“How long can we stay in here without going out to get supplies?” Reaper asked as he sat down again. 

“Couple of days, but what really worries me is that fact that Lu could be in trouble.”

“She’s a badass, I’m sure she is fine.” Reaper tried to give her a smile. 


	2. Whispers In The Dark

Hours passed, the darkness kept throbbing around them and Lu didn’t return home. Reaper had fallen asleep on the sofa, while Tiger was replacing and relighting tealights every few hours, and keeping an eye out for any changes. With all the protocols they had in the Starfleet Marine Corps, there was no advised behaviour for this kind of situation. Well, except “Stay Calm” and “Adapt and Overcome” perhaps.

Tiger sat there, her gaze resting on the candle in front of her. Sometimes she felt like she could hear voices in the shadows-- desperate voices, if this were to last longer it would drive her insane. The dread she felt was so different from anything she had felt before, even dying on Cryptos IV had been nothing like it.

Reaper’s phaser gun was placed to her left, ready to be grabbed, her torch was turned off and sat to her right. She felt how she was getting more and more tired over time but soon it was time to wake Reaper. 

But he woke on his own and grumbled something before sitting up and sitting down on the floor next to her. 

“I can’t imagine how this must be for you,” he said softly. 

“At least I’m not on my own.” Tiger yawned.

“That would suck. Come on, I’ll let you sleep,” Reaper said softly. 

“Wake me if something happens or you need anything.”

Tiger nodded and laid down on the sofa, wrapping herself into the blanket. She took quite long until she was calm enough to fall asleep. 

***

Two days later there was still no sign of Lu and the darkness was still there and the two were slowly running out of candles to light since they were nothing they kept in bulk.

“I don’t like it but we need to go outside soon,” Reaper said. 

Tiger frowned. “We should get what we need and then make a run for the precinct. In case something goes wrong we can still come back here.”

Reaper nodded agreeing to her plan. Even though they were best friends all the years of serving alongside each other and Tiger being higher ranked than he still made an impact today. 

“I’ll get Lu’s rifle and the handgun she keeps, just in case,” Tiger said,

“I will pack us some rations and get your go-bag in the meantime,” Reaper turned on his head-lamp and went into the kitchen.

Tiger nodded, took her torch and went downstairs. The darkness seemed thick there, she could barely hear her own steps. She knew where her wife’s combination since she sometimes locked her weapons away in there too. She got the rifle and the handgun, making sure they were functional before closing the locker and quickly going back to Reaper.

“Got everything,” he reported when he saw her. 

Tiger handed him the rifle and made sure she got a medical kit and her knife on her. The two slowly climbed down the stairs. Tiger let her torch wander and then quickly opened the door, let Reaper out and locked it into place. 

Reaper had turned on the torch attached to his rifle but the beam only got a few meters before being swallowed by the darkness. He stayed close to her, on high alert he looked around and then sniffed. 

“Do you smell that?” he asked. 

“Yeah. Disgusting.” Tiger had her phaser out and stayed right next to him while they slowly made their way down the street. 

Orientation was incredibly hard since they could see almost nothing beyond two meters in front of them.

“How far is it to the supply station?” Reaper asked softly, the darkness seemed to mute his voice even more. 

“Not far, just down the street.” Tiger didn’t take eyes off the road, or what was visible of it. 

The pair had walked a few hundred meters when shots flashed up, barely missing the two. Tiger immediately ducked behind a parked car, Reaper was right with her and also returned fire. 

Reaper had no idea where the shots were coming from and if he was even hitting something. The flashes of the phaser fire were also swallowed by the darkness but the two marines kept calm, completely forgetting they were not wearing any protective gear whatsoever. 

The pack of creatures emerging from the darkness were walking on two legs but had nothing humanoid to them, maybe they had been humanoid once but now they weren't anymore. They were dark purple and had red eyes that glowed in the darkness, they took a few blows to the head before collapsing. And one of them made it dangerously close to them before Tiger managed to take them out.

Tiger looked at Reaper trying to see if he was alright, he didn’t seem to be hurt. She gave him a nod and then slowly left cover to inspect the monsters.

Reaper also got up and covered her— as well as he could.

Tiger had never seen anything like them before but they looked like they were meant to scare them. They were equipped with an Albian variant of the standard Starfleet rifle type three, this worried her slightly. How were they able to get those?

“Let’s keep moving so we get to safety quickly,” Tiger said as she rose, quickly thinking about taking one of their rifles, but then dismisses the thought. 

Reaper started to walk with her again, constantly expecting another attack. 

“Maybe we should head to the precinct right after we went to the shop, every minute out here is a risk,” Reaper suggested and Tiger hummed in agreement. 

The two kept moving, staying vigilant and trying to make as little noise as possible. The almost complete absence of light and the almost unbearable stench made it hard to focus and made their skin crawl.


	3. Monsters

The street seemed endless, they kept walking but they didn’t seem to reach the supply station.

“Are you sure we are heading in the right direction?” Reaper asked after a while. 

“I am sure,” Tiger looked around. She was barely able to see Reaper, who was directly next to her. Suddenly she was not that confidence anymore. She felt how her hands started sweating and she felt like she couldn’t breathe, something tight was wrapping around her chest. She slowed down and lowered her weapon and torch. 

Reaper walked a few more steps before noticing and turning around to her. He himself felt like he was going insane slowly but surely. The sickening smell in the air, the endless darkness and the uncertainty of this threat scared him more than he admitted. 

Reaper looked down and into Tiger’s eyes. He was keeping his torch pointed at her feet which lit her face in an unusual way from below, the light gave her face an extremely skinny and almost skull-like look. Her eyes were filled with fear as she looked right up to him. In the light, her black cap seemed huge. 

“Tell me this is just a dream,” Tiger said softly. 

“Unfortunately, I believe, it is not…” Reaper looked around once again before looking back at her. 

The City’s streets were empty, spookily empty, he had noticed it too. 

“Would you like us to turn around?” Reaper asked. 

Tiger shook her head. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

Reaper pulled on the strap of the rifle so it was now on his back and out of the way and put both his hands on her shoulders and raised both eyebrows, clearly visible under the visor of his cap, he asked for permission to hug her. 

Tiger swallowed audibly and nodded. Reaper pulled her into a hug, he heard her heart pound and he feelt how tense every muscle in her body was. Carefully, he started rubbing her back.

“Ready to get some food?” he asked after a while. 

“Yes, please,” Tiger mumbled and pulled away. She tried to slow down her breathing, to calm down. 

Reaper padded her back before getting his rifle ready again.

Once they had made it to the supply station they were relieved. The front door was unlocked, so Tiger pulled it open and went left to do a sweep. 

Reaper let the glass doors shut behind them and went right. He saw movement between the shelves. 

“SFMC. Identify yourself,” Reaper demanded. 

A male-presenting Albian stepped out from behind the shelf, both hands raised. 

“I didn’t do anything,” he said. He was wearing a half-face respirator and casual, working-class clothes. “Woah, I mean you no harm.” 

“Why are you wearing a mask?” Reaper asked him while he kept his phaser aimed at him. 

“Because it stinks outside. What is even going on? Why is everyone going mad?” the Albian asked. 

“We don’t know yet,” Tiger said calmly, her gun was pointed at the floor in front of her, her torch directed at his chest. She watched how the Albian paled, just as she saw movement outside in front of the shop from the corner of her eye. 

She dove to tackle Reaper so he was out of the direct line of fire, just on the time when the windows and doors behind them shattered and a phaser bolt flashed through the darkness. Tiger moved off Reaper so he could fire from his lying position before starting to fight back, she could see more glowing eyes in the dark and aimed at them. 

The firefight went on for over a minute but then it was about to be done when a bolt singed her arm. She yelped and accidentally dropped her torch, pain shot up her arm and she stopped firing. 

Thankfully Reaper took out the last standing monster fairly quickly before rushing to her side. 

“I’m okay,” she said, grabbed her torch and looked around, noticing the motionless body of the Albian behind them and quickly got back on her feet to rush down the aisle to help him. The smell of burned plastic and flesh filled the air, characteristic for these kinds of fights. 

It was too late, the Albian was dead. Tiger grunted a bit angrily before gripping onto her hurt arm again. It would be gone in a few minutes but until then it would hurt like hell. Reaper was worried for her but kept facing the street.

“Let’s get what we need,” Tiger said before packing the things and leaving a list and her ID-number on a sticky-note by the counter. She still wanted to follow the rules and don't be an ass. 

Reaper was still covering her, but every now and then he glared at the dead Albian. Why had he not been scared? “What if it’s in the air?” Reaper asked quietly, just as Tiger turned around to leave. 

Tiger looked at him, at the dead civilian and then at the dead monsters. “Perhaps, it could be…”

“Do you think it is okay if we take his mask?” Reaper asked then. 

Tiger shrugged. “He is dead; he won’t need it anymore.” She walked over and carefully took it off him, got up and handed it to Reaper. “You take it, you are physically strong and you could carry me if needed.”

Reaper glared at her, she was injured and technically at greater risk, but he knew she would not give in and fighting would waste time… time they didn’t have. 

Tiger froze as she tried to think clearly, then she took off her pack. “Completely forgot I have one in there.”

She pulled out a smaller green bag with hard content and pulled out a mask. It was the standard SFMC issue. She quickly pulled off the filter’s seal and put it on, like she had done a hundred times before. She cleared it with a few breaths, hid the smaller bag in her pack again and got up. 

Reaper had put his on already and looked at her, unsure what to think. “You keep a respirator in your go-bag?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I put it in there when the armour became standard for all of us on all missions. Past me must have thought it might come in handy. Even Lu keeps one in her gear bag.”

“That’s a different thing, you come home when you are off duty when you want to leave the war behind you.”

“You see how well that worked,” Tiger grumbled and raised her torch to started walking towards the exit. She took a big step over one of the monsters and bent down to take one of their rifles. There would be more of them and the rifle came with an integrated torch.

When the two stepped outside, silence and darkness surrounded them again. Even their steps were not audible anymore, the only thing they could hear was their heart pounding in their ears and their own breathing. 

“I really hope it truly is just in the air,” Reaper said just loud enough to be heard through the mask. 

“Same.” Tiger had to grit her teeth, her arm was still bothering her. “I’ll lead you to the precinct, it would be stupid to go back to the flat first.” Maybe it was just in her head but it seemed like the coat of darkness was lifting very slowly.

“I agree,” Reaper said just as quiet. 

The two made it just a hundred meters before they were attacked by monsters once again. Both took cover and kept fighting back. Her injury slowed down Tiger, suddenly she took a direct blow to the chest. She crooked up and lost balance. She had been shot into the chest before but never without any body armour on. Her enhancement was the only reason she did not die instantly. 

Reaper saw that from the corner of her eye but kept fighting until he was clear to help her. He pulled Tiger’s backpack off her back and got out the small regenerator she had. The lack of light made it hard but he was able to close the burn and fix up the tissue before oedema could form. 

Tiger was in a lot of pain and there was no pain medication in her kit, nothing but anti-allergy medicine. She was spiralling down a road of panic. 

“Nat!” Reaper said firmly. “Breathe. It will be over any second. Inhale, hold exhale.” He demonstrated, hoping she would follow along. 

But Tiger felt panic take over, hours of fear and now this. She ripped the mask off her face and started crying, not able to hold it back any longer. 

“It’s gonna be okay, your body will heal in no time,” Reaper said softly and wiped away her tears, “but you need to let me help you put on that mask again.”

He pulled her up and let her upper body and head rest on his legs, he stayed leaning against the car, which had served as cover for them, and kept holding her, his gun in reach.

“Here,” he said softly when she reached up and helped her get hold of her mask and pull the straps over her head. 

Tiger was still hyperventilating but Reaper was not letting go. 

“We will make it to Lu’s precinct, you will see her. She is okay. Maybe she has answers for us. I will carry you there if I have to.” Reaper watched how Tiger raised both her hands to check if her masked was properly sealed to her face. 

Reaper dared to look up. The last few minutes he had been focused solely on her, he had not noticed that the darkness around him was gone, like a black cloth that had removed from his eyes. 

The weather was grey and it was foggy but it was day. “You should see this…” he said, looking around. “The darkness is gone, something in the air was messing with our heads.”

Tiger stared up at him and blinked once. “Okay,” she said almost inaudible before she lost consciousness. 

“I got you,” Reaper said. After he had checked her vitals again, he carefully picked her up, made sure he had had her gun and torch, he was gentle when he got up, holding his sidearm in his left hand, his rifle on a strap over his left shoulder— Tiger over his right. 

Slowly he walked around the car and saw then men he and Tiger had shot. Right, MEN. They were men, no monsters. They wore tons of gear and they were wearing masks with their face shields coloured red. Reaper knew the markings on their sleeves: They were part of a terrorist organisation called C0mb0. He knew they were ruthless and constantly trying to scare people. 

With the darkness gone, Reaper felt a lot better, more secure and he could actually see and assess his environment. He walked faster, trying to stay as close to cover as possible, next time he would see them coming. 


	4. Chapter 4

The precinct was not that far, only the darkness had felt endless. On his shoulder, Tiger began to move. She groaned and softly in pain and called out his name.   
Reaper slowed down to set her down between big flower pods that were placed as decor on the pavement.   
“Talk to me. How are you feeling?” he asked her softly.  
“Chest still hurts but I think I’m better.”  
“Is the darkness still there?”  
“Yeah,” Tiger looked around and only saw the illusion.   
“Well, it cleared up for me and we are almost there,” he explained. “Do you think you can walk?”  
“With your help, I can. I don’t want Lu to worry when she sees you carrying me.”  
Reaper nodded, he understood. He offered her a hand up and Tiger used it to pull herself back to her feet. She seemed to be a bit wonky still but with his support she would be able to walk. She looked down and inspected the hole in her fatigues, looked dramatic. the skin underneath was red-ish but not a raw burn anymore.   
Reaper took her arm and slowly they made the final meters to the police station. They seemed to be on lockdown so he rang the doorbell.   
“Identify yourself,” a raspy voice demanded via the comm system.   
“Gunnery Sergeant John Grimm, Starfleet Marines. I’m with Colonel Natalia Jurova,” Reaper said, calmly.   
“We would like to talk to Lúthien Jurova?” Tiger added, a lot quieter.  
“A moment please,” the voice said before going quiet.   
Minutes passed. But then the two could hear the door buzzer and Reaper was able to push the door open. Once they were inside and the door was locked into place, the inner pair of doors swung open.   
The lobby of the police station was brightly lit and there was lots of greenery.   
A female-presenting Albian in uniform rushed down the stairs, it was Lu.   
“Stars!” she quickly came closer, worried about Tiger’s state. “Is it bad?”  
“The situation outside or her injury?” Reaper asked.   
“Both.” Lu froze. “Follow me, you two look done, you have enough time to tell us. It’s safe in here, you can take off your masks.” She started to lead the two over to the lift.   
Reaper signed and pushed down his mask, so it was loosely hanging around his neck. Before following Lu.   
Tiger was still pretty much out of it. In the lift she finally managed to take off her mask, to put it back into the carrier bag and donned her cap, moving it into the proper position, she was armed after all.   
“I’m so glad to see you, darling,” Tiger said and gave her wife a shaky smile.  
“I think C0mb0 is behind this, their people attacked us in the streets,” Reaper told Lu.   
“I’m grateful you made it here alive. Why did you leave the flat?”  
“We ran out of candles. And your wife was worried about you,” Reaper told Lu.  
Lu nodded. “So you found out that it is in the air. We don’t know yet who is behind this but we know it is supposed to be an act of terror. People go insane out there and who is making it though is killed by the groups roaming through the streets. Not even all of our officers made it back here when it all started that night. We tried to ask for backup but so far nothing is going through. Right now we need to find out where the agent is coming from and stop it as fast as we can. But our Captain tries to not endanger anyone of her people so until now we couldn’t do anything.”  
The lift stopped and the doors opened. “John, find Natasha a place to sit down,” Lu said to Reaper. “I’ll get the medic here.”  
“That won’t be necessary,” Tiger said softly. “The wound is healed, it just hurts. Don’t worry. Looks worse than it is.”  
“Sure?”  
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Tiger just stood there, in the office between the desk and a shelf.   
Lu looked at Tiger for another second before pulling her into a hug.   
“Love you,” Tiger whispered into her ear.   
“I know, Natasha. I know.”   
Reaper had walked over to the window to look at the city.   
“How did you find out what you know and how did you get here?” Lu asked him after she had helped Tiger sit down.   
Reaper turned around to Lu and told her everything that had happened on their end so far.   
Lu listened attentively. She kept looking at Tiger. The huge hole in the front of Tiger’s uniform, where she had been hit, looked scary.  
“If you guys need to shower and fresh clothes, I think we can provide that. I’d have to talk to the Captain first….” Lu offered.   
“Thank you… if we can do anything to help in return, let us know.”  
Lu nodded. “For now, rest. You are safe here,” she said before leaving.   
After a while, Lu returned with the Captain, who introduced herself as Yanda Nortirs and clothes.  
Tiger knew the Captain from a few celebrations she had had the time to attend between duty.  
The clothes they had gotten as a replacement were shirts and dark pants, that looked like they belonged to the SWAT uniform, but they were unmarked and could have any kind of dark plain pants, with lots of pockets. Reaper and Tiger had replaced the belts with the utility belts from their own uniform.  
“The showers are in the basement next to the toilets, Tiger can help you find them.”  
Tiger nodded. “When you help me walk…”  
Reaper nodded and took Tiger’s clothes to carry them too, while Tiger rose.


	5. Chapter 5

“I know it is nothing like the armour you are used to and it’s not as good either but it is surely better than nothing,” Lu said softly. “Our mission is to find out where the hallucinogen is coming from. Captain Nortirs insisted that I make clear that I’m in charge. We all know you know way better how to deal with the situation than I am so forget what I just said.” Lu gave them both a smile. 

“What is your codename, darling?” Tiger asked Lu, who gave her a look of confusion. 

“Valkyrie,” Lu answered, after remembering her nickname from Academy. 

Reaper nodded. “Let’s gear up and do this?”

“Absolutely,” Valkyrie said. “Get into your gear and let’s go.”

Reaper made sure he removed all “Police” labels from his and Tiger’s gear. It could get them into trouble and he was not wanting that under any circumstances. 

“You need to make sure your masks are on properly and that you don’t break seal by accident. Exposure won’t kill you but it could endanger this mission,” Valkyrie said as she put on her boots. “And as you probably always get told, don’t put civilians at risk and only fire if you are sure the contact is with C0mb0.” 

“Copy that,” Reaper mumbled while he put on the last parts of his outer gear and holstered his hand phaser.

Tiger, as a medical officer, was a lot more familiar with this kind of simpler armour. She put on her mask and made sure it was on properly before putting on her helmet and arming herself. She seemed extremely collected now, knowing that Valkyrie was alive and had been safe during the first two and a half days.

Valkyrie was a bit excited even and not scared at all, she had only experienced the darkness briefly and not for days like the other two. She knew it had to be awful but she could not imagine it. Also, the two knew a lot more about almost-apocalypses and chemical weapons than she did. The most extreme stuff she had ever have to handle had been tear gas, way back in academy. 

Tiger looked around at the other two when they had geared up. “Let’s move.” She pulled the strap of her rifle over her shoulder and double-checked her gear. 

The two gave her a nod and the trio started heading towards the exit. 

When the precinct’s doors shut behind them, a shiver ran down Reaper’s spine. But he felt a lot safer now. Without the effects of the substance and in at least some protective armour. He felt how the grip around his rifle tightened as he made sure the street was clear. 

“Where do we start, Detective?” he asked.

“Uptown, the Captain has a suspicion. We can take a cruiser there,” Valkyrie answered. 

“What’s her suspicion?” Tiger moved over the courtyard towards where the Police parked their cars. 

“They have calculated wind direction and speed and tried to figure out where it would be most efficient to release a substance like this.” Valkyrie unlocked a car and got into the driver’s seat. “You two just do what you do best.”

“Shoot everything that wants to kill us?” Reaper asked half-joking. 

“Something like that…” Valkyrie started the engine and started to drive slowly. 

“Did you just call us nothing but trigger-happy?” Tiger’s grin was audible but well hidden under her mask. She knew her wife was only teasing.

“I know that you are a great surgeon and that Joh-- Reaper has a big heart,” Valkyrie added but then fell silent to keep her eyes on the road, which was obstructed by abandoned cars every now and then. 

Not much resembled the bright and busy streets of this capital the three knew and loved. 

“Stay alert all the time,” Reaper said to Valkyrie as she kept driving.

They drove a few blocks and saw nobody, the fog outside seemed to get thicker over time and the visual range dropped beneath fifty meters. Valkyrie adapted the vehicles speed accordingly.

“Contact!” Tiger called out as she saw a group of armed figures move at the side of the road. 

Just a second later phaser fire started raining down onto their car. 

“Get down, windows can’t take much,” Valkyrie told them calmly while she kept the car steady on the road, in case one of the two had the chance to return fire.

“I guess they don’t like the fact that we are trying to stop them.”

After being hit several times the starboard window shattered and Tiger used that to fire back until they were out of reach. 

“Almost there,” Valkyrie said quietly. 

“The signal appears to come from somewhere within a block radius,” Reaper said. 

“Okay let’s park the car and get searching.” Valkyrie slowed down the car and parked at the side of the road. Tiger handed her her bag and then Reaper and Tiger got out of the car first to make sure they asses were safe. 

“Clear,” Tiger reported after she had checked the area. Stars, she missed her heads-up-display, but at least she had ballistic protection now. 

Valkyrie raised her scanner and searched the source. “On this building!” she said and pointed at what looked like an office complex.

Reaper nodded and moved over the street towards the entrance, while Tiger had his back, Valkyrie was sandwiched in the middle, covered by both of them. 

Reaper used the heel of his boot to open the door without letting go off his rifle. He was completely in soldier mode, the way he moved; he was focused on his task. 

Surprisingly there was nobody in the lobby. “We’ll need to take the stairs, the building is without power,” he said quietly. 

The lobby was bright because of the huge windows, but the inner parts of the building were quite dark without any lights working, but nothing compared to the darkness Reaper and Tiger had encountered earlier.

They turned on their torches and carefully proceeded into the stairwell. Reaper went first, trying to be as quiet as possible. He let his torch wander around as he climbed the stairs. 

Valkyrie kept an eye on her tricorder, while she kept her hand phaser in her other hand, she knew the two had her back. The source appeared to be moving as they kept moving upwards. 

Suddenly Reaper heard a noise in one of the floors, he slowed down and signalled Tiger to turn off her light and to be quiet. 

Tiger reacted instantly, while Reaper headed towards the door to peek through the window. 

Valkyries tricorder detected several Albian life-signs behind the door, she carefully tapped Reapers shoulder to show him. 

Reaper gave her an acknowledging nod and slowly and as quietly as possible he pressed down the handle to open the door. 

The office floor was bright, enough light was getting in through the windows. A couple of Albians were sitting down in a corner, they were terrified. 

Reaper lowered his rifle but kept it ready. 

Valkyrie had walked past him, put her gun away and approached them slowly. “I’m a police officer, we don’t want to cause you any harm,” she said calmly. “Is any of you hurt?”

They shook their heads. 

Valkyrie hunched down. And took a glow stick from her belt and activated it, when seeing here one of the civilians jumped a bit. “We are taking care of the situation, it will be over soon. Did any people with red eyes, in purple suits come into this building.”

“Probably not,” one of them said softly. “But we can’t find everyone who has worked here. Some people just vanished into the darkness and never came back.”

Valkyrie nodded. “The glow stick will last at least two hours. Stay safe….” She slowly got up and turned around to the others. “Let’s find those bastards,” she said softly before glaring at the scanner again. What she saw made her go pale under her mask-- the source had moved north by about one hundred meters. She motioned the two to follow her where they could talk without scaring civilians. 

“The source appears to be moving,” she said softly once they were back in the stairwell. 

“Let’s get to the roof nevertheless and let’s hurry. Maybe readings are clearer from there!” Tiger decided and started moving again, both gloved hands on her gun. 

“Aye aye,” Reaper responded; Understanding and respecting her decision. 

And Valkyrie knew the two knew best, she really wanted this to be over soon. 

This time Tiger was the one at the front line, she broke the lock and kicked down the think metal door to the roof. The fog was not that thick up here. She had her gun raised and looked around. They were alone on the roof. “Where is it?” 

Valkyrie tried to find it, every muscle in her body was tense. “Over there,” she pointed into the sky. 

Reaper cleared up, didn’t see anything between the veils of fog. He started there for a while, trying to think. Suddenly there was a small spot which grew bigger with rapid speed. 

“Take cover!” Tiger called out and took Valkyries arm to help her back to the door and inside. 

There was an electrical hum in the air, it grew louder proportional with the spot growing in size.

“It’s a drone.” Reaper said oddly calm. “Get off this roof.” As soon as they all were inside he pulled the door shut. He heard phaser fire outside. 

“Now they definitely know we are onto them and they know our location!” Valkyrie said loud enough to be heard over the noise outside. 

“We got this!” Tiger said, trying to encourage her while the three kept running down the stairs. “That might get rough, but as you keep your head down and clear.”

Minutes had passed when they arrived in the lobby and there was something moving outside.

“Tiger stick with Valkyrie. I’ll go offensive if I have to.” Reaper looked determined. 

“On it!” Tiger moved to her wife’s left and ducked behind the sofa in the lobby. Just to see and not be seen. “Phasers to stun. Darling, you stay in cover. Reaper and I can handle more damage.”

Valkyrie nodded and watched how Tiger knelt down to draw bead on the enemies outside. 

There were at least twenty uniformed C0mb0 members outside now and they were firing rapidly at the glass windows. 

Reaper was going offensive, and Tiger was firing while staying close to Valkyrie. 

Tiger seemed to be quick at reacting to a new threat popping up in her field of view. itwas the first time Valkyrie really understood how the transformation had changed the two physically. The stronger, faster and their reflexes had increased, they also seemed to be able to take more damage and heal faster. Glass shattered and she could hear how Reaper kept fighting. 

Suddenly Tiger heard a sigh next to her, jumped round noticed Valkyrie was down and saw that one of the C0mb0 members had snuck up behind her. She took him out and quickly crawled over. 

“Reaper! She’s down, I need you over here, keep them away from us…” She said loud enough to be heard. She was already checking Valkyrie over and quickly saw where she had been hit. 

The window of her mask was shattered and her face was burnt, Valkyrie was unconscious but still breathing. Most of the blow had been absorbed by the mask, but her burns needed treatment. 

Tiger pulled her up and rested Valkyrie’s head on her knees, and used her knife to cut the straps of her wife’s mask carefully. To clear her face and check her airways, she got her kit out and used the regenerator to start treating the burns, mainly around the eyes. Tiger was thankful to be wearing her mask so she didn’t smell the burnt flesh. She focused on calming her breath, to not panic because she was all the help Valkyrie could get right now so she had to focus. Around her, she could still hear phaser fire and goons grunting when Reaper spanked them.

Mid progress, Tiger stopped to recheck Valkyrie’s airways. Everything was clear so far. Every now and then she had to look up, to see if Reaper was holding up alright.

“She’s alive, at least she’s alive,” Tiger said quietly. “We need to get back to the car and get back to safety. With her broken mask she was exposed we need to rethink our strategy.” 

“Trying my best. I can carry her and you keep our asses clear?”

“Agree.” Carefully Tiger placed Valkyries head down, grabbed her kit and then armed herself. 

Reaper came over and scooped up Valkyrie. “Let’s run!” 

He ran as fast as he could, while Tiger tried to take out everyone who could harm them.

“I’ll drive. You ride on the back seat with her! You can take care of her better than I can.”

Reaper got shot several times into the back, but the armour had caught them. He quickly sat Valkyrie down before jumping into the driver’s seat, Tiger tossed him the keys and he started driving. 

Tiger had laid down Valkyrie in a way that would make it easy for her to monitor her. 

They were almost at the precinct when Valkyrie slowly regained consciousness. She began to stir and mumbled something indistinct. 

“I’m right here,” Tiger said softly. 

Valkyrie opened her eyes seeing nothing but darkness. “Nat?!” she asked weakly, clearly in pain. The stench of the fog left a nasty taste in her mouth.

Tiger carefully turned on her torch. To Tiger, it didn’t make a difference, but to Valkyrie, it meant the world. She could now see Tiger’s eyes and how she was leaning over her. 

“It’s okay, you got hurt but we are trying to get back to safety,” Tiger told her. She felt how Valkyrie searched for her hand. 

Tiger quickly took it and gave it a squeeze. “How’s pain?”

“Solid eight,” Valkyrie answered, knowing the drill of the pain scale too well. She looked around. “I’m so glad you are with me. There is no light, how did you make it two days in this darkness and also with uncertainty?”

“We had each other, and I knew you were out there.”

“Are we there yet?” Valkyrie asked, her grip around Tiger’s hand tightened. 

“Almost there, then we just need to get inside,” Reaper answered. “The darkness is just in your head and we can see for you if that helps.”

“It does, thank you, John.” 

This was the first time he didn’t regret coming to this for god sakes. Before he had only been glad about the fact that Tiger was not alone this way. Now he started to realise slowly how deeply the two appreciated his presence. 

Tiger was his best friend, the only one he had besides his sister…. And Lu or Valkyrie trusted him too. 

Reaper stopped the car right in front of the entrance and got out with his rifle at the ready. “Can you carry her?”

“Yes. Darling, we are almost there,” Tiger said softly before picking Valkyrie up and slowly carrying her over to the station. 

Reaper covered them. He felt how breathing was getting harder, he was in need of a new set of filters, and if he was-- Tiger was too. He rang the doorbell and identified himself before they let him in. 

As soon as they were inside Tiger headed straight for the lift, she had to take her to Valkyrie’s office. 

“Once we are upstairs, I can give you proper medical care. You will need to rest….”

“I’m really tired and also,” Valkyrie swallowed audibly. “I love you, Natasha Jurova,” she added, slurring her words. 

Tiger smiled under her mask. “You mean the world to me.”

Valkyrie managed a smile in response to that.

Tiger set her down on the sofa and got her a hypo before taking off her own helmet and mask. Tiger started another regeneration session, this time she was able to close everything. The skin at the burnt areas was still red and tender but it was no open burn anymore. 

“Would you like some water?” Tiger asked. 

Valkyrie nodded. “I’m tired,” she added. 

Tiger got her some water with a straw before helping her pull up the blanket. “If you start feeling worse, nauseous or dizzy, you need to tell me or the medic, okay?”

Once again Valkyrie nodded. 

Tiger squeezed her hand before making sure she was comfortable. Then she heard steps and turned around. Reaper had returned from reporting to Captain Nortirs. 

“He is figuring out something now, he tells us to sleep if we want to,” Reaper said and opened the velcro of is best to take off at least his outer gear. He then tossed Tiger a blanket and the two lied down on the carpet in the middle of the room. 

Tiger heard Valkyrie shift and a pale hand emerged from under the blanket. Tiger carefully reached up to hold it. With a finger, she drew a small heart on the back of Valkyrie’s hand. 

Reaper watched them, glad they were alright, that they were alive. But he soon nodded off, while watching the two, knowing that he was at a safe place and that Valkyrie would be alright. 

He slept like a log, when he slowly woke up he felt a bit sore and heard his stomach grumble. He ran his hair over his extremely short hair and looked around. Tiger was still fast asleep, still holding onto Valkyrie’s hand. He sat up and dug through his pack and found a protein bar, he started chewing on it, tasted like a shoe but it would fill his stomach. He walked over to the window, it was night now. Next doors, he could herd a few cops talk quietly, most were probably sleeping too. 

He stretched his back and then sat down again, wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and looked at the two women in the dimmed light. Both of them were breathing, he could hear that, a huge relief. 

The memory of Tiger getting shot directly to the chest had burned deep into his memory, just as deep of the picture of her lying between burnt monsters’ bodies back on Cryptos IV, lifeless, bumped up and only lit the glow of the dying flames around her. 

Reaper found himself staring holes into the air, he snapped himself out of it. She was alright! And so was her better half. 

He sighed and then lied back down and curled up under his blanket, he had to take all the sleep he could get. He did the breathing exercises Tiger had taught him back then and after a few minutes, he felt how it started calming him down, how his heart rate slowed down into a more normal range. Deep inside he knew that they would manage, they would get out of this alright. 

But the next part of his night was less restful than the first. He woke up, bathed in sweat and cursed softly. Even when he didn’t admit it in front of anyone but himself, the station on Cryptos was haunting him in his dreams. Over the last year, this had improved but he was still not there and the current situation had woken all the demons in him. 

“Hey….” a familiar voice said and he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

Reaper jumped noticeably and turned around. It was Tiger, she had sat up and looked at him with a concerned face. 

“Bad dreams?” she asked in a whisper to not wake Lu. 

Reaper nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m okay,” he tried to assure her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“John… Don’t.” Tiger carefully rubbed his back. “Don’t lie to me when it comes to your health, mental and physical.”

Reaper nodded and tried to smile once again. 

“I’m so sorry, for scaring you like that.” She hugged him, hoping to not disturb him any further. 

“It was a shitty day for all of us, especially for those who didn’t make it out. I guess I just still need time to process this.” He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her like his life depended on it.

Tiger held him, looked him in the eyes and leaned her forehead against his. “My point is, we are pretty hard to kill now, so we will be okay.” 

“And for Lúthien we will fight.”

“Exactly.”

Reaper slowly let go. 

“Nat?” Lu was slowly waking up, the pain medicine Tiger had given her earlier was wearing off. 

Tiger turned around. “What do you need?” she asked. 

“Could use some food,” Lu said quietly. 

Tiger got up to get a protein bar or a cracker from her pack and handed it to her injured wife, along with a water bottle. 

“Thanks, darling, could also use a painshot.”

Tiger nodded and got her kit. 

Lu was patient, after she had gotten the hypo she curled back up. 


End file.
